Baba Yaga's Book of Witchcraft, by Madame Pamita

Praise for Baba Yaga’s Book of Witchcraft “A beautiful work of art and magic … Pamita brings us the wisdom of Baba Yaga through a deep exploration of Slavic magic.”

—Annwyn Avalon, author of Water Witchcraft “Once you get pulled in by this book’s inspired and informed secrets, you will not be able to put it down … Pamita speaks to the deepest depths of your soul.”

—Stephanie Rose Bird, author of Sticks, Stones, Roots & Bones “Pamita draws you in with the beautiful telling of Ukrainian fairy tales, wisdom from the legend herself, Baba Yaga, and tons of practical magic and daily rituals to live a modern mystical life. This is one book I will be coming back to constantly.”

—Pamela Chen, author of Enchanted Crystal Magic “The organic approach taken in this book, rooted fully in its cultures of origin, is truly marvelous.”

—Ivo Dominguez Jr., author of The Four Elements of the Wise “Weaving a mythic story throughout, and drawing from the author’s Slavic cultural heritage, Baba Yaga’s Book of Witchcraft is an expedition into the very heart of magic...A fun and informative read! Highly recommended.”

—Storm Faerywolf, author of The Witch’s Name “Pamita brings old traditions alive, and then blends them into modern practices providing readers with new tools and perspectives to expand and enrich their magical experiences.”

—Sandra Kynes, author of Tree Magic “This outstanding book will help connect you to this wise old woman and bring her ancient and little-known spiritual path to life.”

—Ainslie MacLeod, author of The Old Soul’s Guide Book “Pamita proves herself to be a brilliant storyteller, master instructor, and detailed historian in this fine homage to the powerful and mysterious female icon that is Baba Yaga.”

—Katrina Rasbold, author of Uncrossing

“Pamita effortlessly mixes storytelling, history, folklore, magic, and her own personal journey in this beautifully written book.”

—Gwion Raven, author of Life Ritualized “This is one of the few books that as I finish, I open the front cover to reread.”

—Jacki Smith, author of Coventry Magic “This book has a compelling story, authentic folklore and folk magic, and the wisdom from an ancient forest witch.”

—Astrea Taylor, author of Air Magic “If you feel called to spend time in Baba Yaga’s hut and to listen as she shares her ancient magical secrets, your intuition has led you to just the right place.”

—Tess Whitehurst, author of The Self-Love Superpower “This book offers a beautifully crafted and poetic journey.”

—Patti Wigington, author of Badass Ancestors “[A] delightful-to-read and easy-to-understand guide to Slavic traditions and magic. It’s the perfect place to begin learning about the indigenous traditions common across all of Old Europe.”

—Patricia Robin Woodruff, PhD, author of Woodruff’s Guide to Slavic Deities “This magnificent book reveals the ancient secrets of Ukrainian magic—many for the first time in English. A must-have for anyone interested in traditional Eastern European folk magic and witchcraft.”

—Michelle Welch, author of The Magic of Connection and Spirits Unveiled “A beautiful tome where the voice of Baba Yaga is strong and profound, and her magick is palpable.”

—Phoenix LeFae, author of Witches, Heretics, and Warrior Women “Pamita takes you on a deep dive into the world of Slavic folk magic. Rich with color, culture, and fairytale wisdom, this book is as beautiful as it is helpful.”

—J. Allen Cross, author of American Brujería

Baba Yaga's BOOK OF WITCHCRAFT

About the Author Madame Pamita is a teacher, candlemaker, spellcaster, tarot reader, and Ukrainian diaspora witch. She is the owner of an online spiritual apothecary called Madame Pamita’s Parlour of Wonders. She is the host of two YouTube video series: Candle Magic Class and the weekly Magic Q&A Tea Party. Madame Pamita is also the host of the Magic and the Law of Attraction podcast and the author of The Book of Candle Magic.

To Write to the Author If you wish to contact the author or would like more information about this book, please write to the author in care of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. and we will forward your request. Both the author and the publisher appreciate hearing from you and learning of your enjoyment of this book and how it has helped you. Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. cannot guarantee that every letter written to the author can be answered, but all will be forwarded. Please write to: Madame Pamita ⁄o Llewellyn Worldwide 2143 Wooddale Drive Woodbury, MN 55125-2989 c

Please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope for reply, or $1.00 to cover costs. If outside the U.S.A., enclose an international postal reply coupon.

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Baba Yaga's BOOK OF WITCHCRAFT

SLAVIC MAGIC FROM THE WITCH OF THE WOODS

Madame Pamita LLEWELLYN PUBLICATIONS WOODBURY, MINNESOTA

Baba Yaga’s Book of Witchcraft: Slavic Magic from the Witch of the Woods © 2022 by Madame Pamita. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Edition First Printing, 2022 Cover art by Sara Koncilja Cover design by Shira Atakpu Interior illustrations by Sara Koncilja Llewellyn is a registered trademark of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data (Pending) ISBN: 978-0-7387-6789-5 Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business transactions between our authors and the public.

All mail addressed to the author is forwarded, but the publisher cannot, unless specifically instructed by the author, give out an address or phone number.

Any internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific location will continue to be maintained. Please refer to the publisher’s website for links to authors’ websites and other sources.

Llewellyn Publications A Division of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. 2143 Wooddale Drive Woodbury, MN 55125-2989 www.llewellyn.com Printed in the United States of America

Other Books by Madame Pamita The Book of Candle Magic

To Mary Kroll Moore, my matusya, and Kateryna Szegda Krol, my babusya.

Contents Acknowledgments Disclaimer Preface

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Introduction

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Chapter 1: Vyshyvanka: The Magical Stitches Chapter 2: Motanka: The Living Poppet

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21

Chapter 3: Domovyk: The Spirit of the House

31

Chapter 4: Rozdorizhzhya: The Crossroads

45

Chapter 5: Lisovyk: The Lord of the Forest

65

Chapter 6: Rusalky: The Spirits of the Lake

77

Chapter 7: Zaklynannya: The Magic Words

93

Chapter 8: Khatynka i Pokut’: The Hut and the Altar Chapter 9: Vidma: The Witch

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Chapter 10: Yizha: The Enchanted Food Chapter 11: Pich: The Oven

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Chapter 12: Vereteno: The Spindle

157

Chapter 13: Krashanky I Pysanky: The Decorated Eggs Chapter 14: Tkats’kyy Verstat: The Loom Chapter 15: Volossya: The Hair

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Chapter 16: Stupa: The Mortar and Pestle Chapter 17: Maty Zemlya: Mother Earth

207 217

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• Contents Chapter 18: Laznya: The Bathhouse

229

Chapter 19: Zhyva i Mertva Voda: The Waters of Life and Death 243 Chapter 20: Kistky: The Bones Chapter 21: Kolo: The Circle

263 277

Appendix I: Magical Plants and Their Meanings Appendix II: Magical Color Correspondences Glossary

287

Bibliography Index

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281 285

Acknowledgments Writing this book was a monumental task worthy of Baba Yaga. There were many times when I sincerely felt like I was trying to separate a mountain of poppy seeds and wheat grains or spin a roomful of hemp in one day. Like Vasylyna, though, with the magical assistance of many amazing helpers, I was able to accomplish what at times felt like an impossible undertaking.

First, I would like to thank the awesome Ukrainian and Ukrainian diaspora women who gathered around, advised, translated, and guided me as I wrote: Christa Lynn, who generously shared her own Ukrainian spiritual practices with me and took me on countless spirit journeys to the lower world to get Baba Yaha’s wise advice; my vidma-sister Katie Karpetz, who gave me The Word and the Wax, the book that opened all the doors for me (and who is probably the only one who geeks out as hard as I do about Ukrainian magic); Diana Tumminia, who painstakingly translated countless videos of the whispers of baby sheptukhy; and my beautiful Ukrainian angel, Lyudmyla (Milla) Rybak, who checked my spelling, corrected my accent, and verified and shared with me all the magic that still goes on in Ukraine today. A huge warm Ukrainian dyakuyu! Without you four magical women, this book would not exist.

I’d like to also thank some of the brilliant scholars and souls whom I only know through the internet but whose generous sharing of their research over the ether helped ground and guide me: Patricia Robin Woodruff, Luba Petrusha, Olga Stanton, and Andryi Dorosh. Thank you for sharing the wisdom and folklore of the old ways so generously.

I’d also like to thank my Llewellyn family, who continue to so lovingly support and give me wise advice, cheering me on and guiding me out of the woods whenever I leave the familiar path: Elysia Gallo, thank you for your help untangling numerous balls of verbal yarn; Kat Neff and Markus Ironwood, thank you for always singing the praises of the books I bring you; Anna Levine, thank you for giving me opportunities to teach and share; Sami Sherratt, thank you for gently combing and braiding my words; and Bill Krause, thank you for being the captain who sails us all through the sky to the paradise of a real-life book being birthed into this world. I am so deeply thankful for all your kindness and assistance.

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Without my amazing team at the Parlour of Wonders keeping watch over the chicken-legged hut, I wouldn’t have been able to spend the hundreds of hours it took to research and write this book. Thank you dear Chelsea Iovino, Romie Bo, Bridget Tuboly, Buchanan Moncure, and my own dear Manfred Hofer for keeping the magic flowing while I was on my journey through the forest.

To my sweet friends who listened and understood while I said a million times, “I can’t! I’m working on my book,” I give you all my best witchy magical blessings, and I’m ready to cash in those rain checks: Judy Pokonosky, Joseph James, Gwendolyn Pogrowski, James Divine, and Chris Onareo. I love you more than Baba Yaga loves a bratty kid and/or midnight snack.

I also want to say thank you to Kris Jecen and everyone from focused.space who kept me on track on those mornings when I would rather have been frolicking with the Spirits of the Lake instead of writing a book.

To my friends Queta Allred and Cloven, who helped me learn how to spin, and to Halyna Shepko, who taught me to weave, I am so grateful for you keeping these ancient crafts alive and sharing your gifts with me.

Thank you to my Instagram friend Maisy Bacon, who shared gorgeous images of the old Slavic aesthetic and also many hilarious quips, both of which inspired and kept me going.

So much love goes to Dakota St. Clare at Catland Books in Bushwick for hosting my classes on Ukrainian and Slavic magic and giving this old witch a place to share what she knows.

To the amazing Spell Squad, I love you guys more than words can say. When you come to my workshops and leave saying, “Hey! I can make magic!” there is nothing that makes my heart happier. I can’t wait to share Baba Yaga’s wisdom with you and see the amazing magic you make!

To my beautiful kids, Morgan and Isabelle, thank you for being just the best. I promise never to shove you in an oven.

To Manfred, the love of my life—so nice, you get thanked twice! Thank you for your love, help, and true partnership. It was on our vacation that this book began. I can’t wait to fly through the skies with you again. If we can’t find a mortar, an airplane will do.

Disclaimer The information in this book is not intended to replace the advice of medical professionals. Please consult your doctor or therapist before using herbal medicine.

xiii

Preface Bones survive. Whenever the blood and the flesh have disintegrated, the bones will remain.

The bones of our ancestors still carry their lives, their dreams, and their hopes. Deep in a grave in a Ukrainian cemetery in Pennsylvania, my grandmother’s bones began to move. Somewhere under the patches of snow and frozen ground, the bones began to warm and almost imperceptibly vibrate.

Whenever I would come in contact with something that connected me to my Carpathian ancestors—a mournful folk tune, a Ukrainian Easter egg, an embroidered blouse—the bones would make a small rattle of life and then fall back into their deep sleep.

And then came the sound. As insubstantial and unnoticeable as the puff of a spring breeze. A sound so quiet that it would be drowned out by the silent pat of a leaf falling.

It was the sound of a hum.

First, one small note. And then another, and then another. It became a tune. The humming got stronger and stronger. The bones of my grandmother, singing.

And then the words of the song came through.

“Remember our magic. Our ways must not be forgotten.”

Her voice was joined by another voice. Her mother, who taught her that you can pour wax into water to determine the source of an illness.

And another voice. Her grandmother, who taught her how to use a motanka doll to heal a child hovering between life and death.

As each voice joined in, it gave power to the voice that came before. And voices upon voices joined in. Open throats, ritually wailing their mournful holosinnya laments, harmonizing, singing lustily and loudly in the chorus. Back and back through generations and generations. Mother upon mother upon mother. Back to the Trypillian ancients who created the clay eggs and clay dolls carved with symbols imbued with magical powers. Back and back to the most ancient one. Back to the baba of all the

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babusy, the grandmother of all the grandmothers, Baba Yaga. And it was she who sang loudest of all: “Tell my story, and you tell all the stories.”

The choir became even stronger and more beautiful. And then, one more voice joined in. My own mother’s voice, familiar and clear.

“Remember what I told you. Pick up the red thread and make the first cross-stitch. In and out. In and out.”

It is no small spell for the dead to make their bones sing. It is challenge enough to cross over from the spirit world back to the world of the living and pass along messages, but to pass from the world of the ancestors and to shake a person in the material world awake and get them to create for you takes a great deal of powerful magic indeed. I am grateful forever for my mama’s powerful magic, my babusya’s powerful magic, and the powerful magic of all the bones of all the babusy who transported me back to the first baba, Baba Yaga.

Introduction Yagishna, Egi Baba, Iagaia. Every Slavic country has their own version of her name.

Baboj dza, Jedubaba, Yaginya. Spoken aloud, they sound like an ancient chant to conjure up the spirits. Ega, Iagaba, Egabova. Those hundreds of names that were told in hundreds of stories. Indzhi Baba, Iagonishna, Iezhibaba. Spread out over Eastern Europe like an embroidered cloth stitched over generation upon generation. Ježibaba, IagaiaBabitsa, Aga Gnishna.

When the famous Russian author Alexander Afanasyev collected the stories of the Russian peasants and created his book Russian Folk Tales in the mid-1800s, he selected just one of the hundreds of names for the witch of the woods. The beauty and magic he wove with his stories captured the imagination of the world, and the name he gave her was solidified in the public consciousness: Baba Yaga.

Her stories were part of an oral tradition going back hundreds of years that spanned cultures and countries as diverse as Poland, Belarus, Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Moravia, Serbia, Slovenia, Galicia, Ukraine, Ruthenia, Lithuania, and dozens more. She is truly a witch without borders. From the widespread nature of these stories, cultural anthropologists and folklorists believe that Baba Yaga was originally a spirit or deity who was revered and honored as the Mistress of the Woods.1 This once-wild nature spirit who assisted the hunters and gatherers became branded as “evil” once Christianity was introduced, and some of her stories evolved to reflect that. However, for those who are willing to look beyond her wrinkled skin, her tangled hair, and her bony leg, there is a powerful teacher for them indeed.

My own familiarity with Baba Yaga comes from my Ukrainian side of the family.

To us, she was Baba Yaha, the famous old crone who ate children just like the witch in the story of Hansel and Gretel—except far more exciting, because she flew around in a giant mortar and had a sentient house that walked around on chicken legs.

1. Andreas Johns, Baba Yaga: The Ambiguous Mother and Witch of the Russian Folktale (New York: Peter Lang, 2010).

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• Introduction

It wasn’t until I began diving deeper into Ukrainian spiritual practices that I began to see the connections between Baba Yaga and the spiritual healers, wise women, and witches of Ukraine. This book centers on the spiritual practices of my own heritage; however, people who are interested in Slavic magic will discover many correspondences and similarities with their own traditions.

In some of the stories told about her, Baba Yaga appears not as one woman, but as three sisters all named Baba Yaga. So, perhaps think of what I have written in these pages as the Ukrainian Baba Yaga looking for her many other sisters scattered throughout the Slavic world. Baba Yaga has inspired stories in so many countries for hundreds, if not thousands, of years and will continue to do so for hundreds and thousands of years to come. I hope that my words will inspire people from other countries and cultures to pick up this thread and tell the stories of her many sisters.

If you’ve ever heard one of the fairy tales where the hero or heroine meets Baba Yaga, you know that she is quite the trickster. Tricksters are actually teachers. Like all the best teachers, she is indirect in her approach, offering the student puzzles that seem mysterious in the moment but elicit the most profound flashes of brilliance in the end.

This book is like that. As you turn the pages, you will be entering a fairy tale and walking a mystifying, twisty path that may at times seem capricious, hazy, too slow, too fast, and sometimes even frustrating. This path is open to anyone, but it is not for everyone. Like the characters who meet Baba Yaga, a person who picks up this book may decide to take the shortcut, put off the meeting until later, or turn back home completely. However, if you walk the roundabout path beside the heroine of our tale, you will develop a deep relationship with Baba Yaga and emerge with gifts and wisdom that you never knew you held within you.

Your journey in this book begins, as all good journeys begin, with a story. Each chapter starts with an episode of a fairy tale that will meander throughout the entire book.

Like all fairy tales, it is more than it seems. You will befriend characters and enter their world to receive insights to bring back to your life. The story I spin for you here loosely follows the plot of the famous story “Vasilisa the Beautiful”; however, elements from other stories of Baba Yaga have been woven in to create something completely new.

This newness includes the heroine’s Ukrainian name, Vasylyna.

In the second part of each chapter, Baba Yaga herself will take the stage to share her wisdom in her own charmingly cantankerous way. She has her opinions, of course, and

Introduction

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will also tell you about the special beliefs and traditions that show up in the tale. You may not always appreciate what she has to say (old women are notorious for not having a filter), but she will always be truthful, and what she tells you will always be useful.

In the third part of the chapter, I will offer another take on the topic, teaching you how to bring traditional Slavic magic into your own modern spiritual practice. I will take you out of just reading a fairy tale and introduce you to magic that will bring you directly into Baba Yaga’s world. Like three tresses of a braid, these three strands will give you three different threads you can weave together to make deep connections that are all your own.

I can see that you are eager to start your journey. Remember, when you meet Baba Yaga, be humble, be willing, be respectful, and be gracious. Show up with your best manners, and she might even invite you to sit beside her near the woodstove. If you get a seat by the fire, she might even tell you her stories.

And if you are worthy of hearing her tales, you might even be able to figure out the secrets of her magic. And if she teaches you her magic, you will be a very, very lucky one indeed.

Chapter 1

Vyshyvanka: The Magical Stitches t all started in a small village. There was a good woman and a good man: a husband and wife who were merchants.

They had a successful little shop in their home. They traded their fine cloth and tools, ribbons and saddles for eggs and wheat, milk and meat. They had a fine house, warm and cozy in the winter. They ate well, they were kind and fair to all, they shared with those who were less fortunate, and so they had many friends. They had everything that they could want—except a child. How they longed to have a little baby, a girl or a boy they could raise up to be good and kind, brave and strong.

I

Finally, after many years, the man and the woman’s wish came true, and they had a little daughter whom they named Vasylyna. She was a perfect child and beautiful, as all babies are, and everyone in the village celebrated and shared in the happiness of the couple.

Vasylyna grew, as all children do, first toddling around on chubby legs, and then running through the village, her skirts and braid trailing behind her as she laughed and scampered. Her mother was an excellent seamstress and embroidered beautiful vyshyvanky for Vasylyna by hand. She embroidered the dresses with flowers and birds, goddesses and trees in stitches of red and black, yellow and orange, green and blue, on the white linen she wove. Vasylyna helped her mother at the loom, and her mother taught her to spin and weave and sew, and she also taught her to embroider protective and magical symbols into the cloth.

Each day that she grew, she became more and more beautiful—not just with her sweet face, but in her kindness to others: the people of the village, the animals, and even the trees and flowers. She helped all those around her, especially her mother and father. They taught her how to fold cloth and polish brass. They taught her how to add and subtract and write neatly in a

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ledger. And when her father was away getting the silks and ribbons and tools and other items for their shop, she would assist her mother with the chores.

She would help her mother sell the goods, cook the meals, fetch water from the well, and chop and haul the wood for the pich, the giant old wood-burning stove that cooked their meals and warmed them through the winter. Each morning, as the sun was just peeking over the distant mountains to the east, Vasylyna and her mother would go outside and bring in wood to feed the pich so that they could warm the house and bake the bread and cook the food they would eat that day.

One early morning before dawn, in the cold of late winter, Vasylyna’s mother lay in her bed and said to Vasylyna, “Vasylyna, I think you are old enough to get the wood for the pich by yourself today.”

So, Vasylyna went out to the woodpile and brought in the sticks and logs. When she brought them in, her mother was still in the bed. She put the wood in the stove, and by the firelight, she saw that her mother was pale. “Matusya, are you unwell?”

Her mother coughed and pushed herself to sit up straighter in the bed. “I just need to rest a little. Can you bake the bread today, Vasylyna?”

“I can try,” said Vasylyna.

“And can you bring me my needlework please, dear Vasylyna? I will embroider while I rest and get better.”

Vasylyna brought her mother her basket with the cloth scraps and needles and thread, and then she busied herself doing the chores while her mother embroidered.

Her mother stitched all through the day, and when it was time to go to bed, Vasylyna went to take the needlework from her mother’s hand.

“No. Go to sleep, dear Vasylyna. I want to embroider a little more.” So Vasylyna went to bed and left her mother to work by the firelight.

Vyshyvanka: The Magical Stitches

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Baba Yaga Shares the Wisdom of the Vyshyvanka So, you’re ready to begin your journey, are you? Well, I just want to give you a bit of warning that you will be venturing out of what you know into all that is unknown. I know it all seems safe and familiar now—you’re sitting at home, reading a book, cozy and warm. But this is the time for you to prepare. It’s no good carving a wooden pail to carry water when your house is already ablaze. We witches know that the time to do your magical work is before you need it.

As you go on this adventure, you are going to meet with strange spirits and encounter supernatural forces, and I don’t just mean me. Listen: at the heart of it all, I am a grandmother, and like a wise grandmother, I will tell you what’s what. If you are going to wander out into the world, you better not go out there unprepared. The world can be an unpredictable place, so do your magic to bring good fortune and avoid disasters before you venture out so that you don’t have to clean up a mess after you are already in it.

Before you head out there like a newborn kitten with your eyes only halfway open, you need to understand how the spirit world works. There are good forces: the things you want to bring more of into your life. There are also the not-so-good ones: vroki and prychyna. Prychyna is a curse, someone actively trying to harm you. Vroki is the evil eye, when someone looks at you with a jealous or an envious feeling that causes you misfortune, even if they have no ill wishes toward you.2 An illness, a misfortune; yes, these can just be the result of your carelessness, but they can also occur because someone looked at what you had with an envious glance, or because they were angry at you and wanted you to be harmed.

This might sound a little scary, and yes, if your fate were controlled by everyone’s whims, that would be scary! But the good news is that you can create your own protection: oberehy, or charms.3 If you stick with me, you are going to learn to create many

2. Etnografichnii Zbirnik: Vidae Naukove Tovaristvo Imeni Shevchenka (L’viv, Ukraine: Nakladom Naukovoho tovarystva Imeny Shevchenka, 1895).

3. Nikolay Fedorovich Sumtsov, Lichnyye Oberegi Ot Sglaza (Saint Petersburg, Russia: Tipografija Gubernskago Pravlenija, 1896).

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oberehy on your journey, but there is one that will become as familiar to you as the clothes on your back.

Ah! It is the clothes on your back! Your clothing is one of your layers of magic—a physical manifestation of what you wish to wrap your body in. Just as your clothing can protect you from the scorching summer sun or the icy winds of winter, it can also protect you from a burning jealous glance or a coldhearted curse. Your clothing can attract love, encourage fertility, and bring abundance as well.

We old ones know this. Those intricate stitches you see on the vyshyvanky, the embroidered shirts and shifts that we wear, are not just pretty decorations, oh no. Open your eyes, little one, and you will see. Those designs are a detailed coded language of magical charms, oberehy, an ancient symbolic language with its roots winding back to the oldest times. To stitch powerful talismanic symbols is to program your future.

Our vyshyvanky are covered with sacred symbols. These charms are embroidered down the sleeves or over the front of the bodice, but they are also applied to the neckline, cuffs, and hem: the openings of the garment. These are the places where that vroki or prychyna could get under your clothing and get to you—the places where extra support and good fortune are needed. For men, there is heavy embroidery on the wrists, so that their hands might be empowered; around the neck, so that they may always hold their head high; and on their chest, so that they might feel love and courage. For women, there is light embroidery on the wrist and neck—sometimes on the hem of the garment as well—and large talismanic embroidery on the sleeves to strengthen the arms for hard work and protecting the loved ones they hold close.4 The symbols themselves are there to bring in the good and keep out the bad. You can encode prosperity, health, beauty, fertility, strength, love, and protection into your embroidery so that every time you wear it, you weave a cloak of positive magic around yourself without having to give it a second thought. When we sit down to embroider, we are sewing our wishes, hopes, and dreams into reality.

Once you learn how to make these charms, you can create magic for yourself and your loved ones. You can even use these embroidered oberehy to bless your home and

4. Chumarna Mariya, Taynopys Vyshyvky (L’viv, Ukraine: Apriori, 2018).

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food. We embroider these magical symbols on our rushnyky, the ritual cloths used to cover and bless food or hang over our home altar.5 These rushnyky are so powerful that we wrap our babies in them when they are born, use them to tie a couple together in the marriage ceremony, and cover our dead with them as they go on to their new life.6 We drape them over the sacred images we display at our home altar, and we decorate our holy birch trees with them at the spring festivals. We cloak ourselves with them during ceremonies and give them as magical gifts to honor our loved ones and connect them to us when they are far away.7 Rushnyky are powerful oberehy, bringing blessings to anyone or anything they touch. They follow us in pleasure and comfort us in grief.

So, little one, it’s time for you to create your first charm, your first oberih.

Madame Pamita Teaches the Magic of the Vyshyvanka When I was growing up, my mother taught me to embroider. My little hands would make clumsy crosses and French knot stitches that were more knot than stitch, but to my mother, it didn’t matter. My creations, made with love and given to her for her birthday or Mother’s Day, were perfect in her eyes. She had been taught to embroider by her mother, who had been taught by her mother, back through the generations, and to pass this gift along to her daughters was to pass along our heritage and our magic.

As I grew, I loved to dress up in vintage costumes. I remember buying a pattern for a vyshyvanka as a young teen and dreaming of embroidering it with beautiful cross-stitch patterns. At the time, I had no idea that the symbols themselves had any meaning, but I must have sensed their magic. To me, they looked like something from a fairy tale, and they made me believe that if I wore something that romantic, I could have encounters with magical beings and turn my dull teenage life into something dramatic and exciting.

5. Ludmyla Bulhakova-Sytnyk, Lubow Wolynetz, and Natalie O. Kononenko, The Tree of Life, the Sun, the Goddess: Symbolic Motifs in Ukrainian Folk Art (New York: Ukrainian Museum, 2005).

6. Mike Dixon-Kennedy, Encyclopedia of Russian and Slavic Myth and Legend (Oxford: ABC-Clio, 1999).

7. Natalie O. Kononenko, Slavic Folklore: A Handbook (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2007).

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• Chapter 1 Vyshyvanky Today

Even though Ukrainian embroidery might look like something from a charming fantasy story, there has been a modern-day resurgence in making, wearing, and collecting vyshyvanky and rushnyky. For native Ukrainians, wearing a vyshyvanka has been a badge of national pride and a symbol of Ukrainian independence. For diaspora Ukrainians, it connects us to our heritage. There is such a love of this embroidery that there is even an international Vyshyvanka Day celebrated by Ukrainians and embroiderylovers all over the world on the third Thursday of May.8 While people today wear vyshyvanky with the colors and patterns that appeal to them, in the past, each region, and even each village, had its own style. Embroidery was a secret language that could identify where a piece was made and, therefore, where someone who was wearing it was from. Some regions of Ukraine specialized in heavy embroidery in multiple colors, and others embroidered delicate white thread on white cloth. In still other areas, the protective patterns were not embroidered at all, but woven directly into the cloth.

While many wear embroidered shirts solely for expressing Ukrainian pride, most Ukrainians are at least conscious of the talismanic properties of these designs. Just as someone may wear a “lucky shirt” when competing in a sporting event, there are many who feel just a little more spiritually protected when wearing their charmed vyshyvanka.

The Magic of Cross-Stitch

Throughout history, talismanic cloth was woven, and we have evidence of complex stitches being added to cloth for protective power as early as the Bronze Age.9 Embroidery styles have evolved over the centuries, and today, the most identifiable vyshyvanky are the cross-stitched designs that became popular in the nineteenth century.

There is magic inherent in every cross-stitch. Each cross is made up of two stitches making an X, a symbol of protection. When embroidering, the first part of the crossstitch initiates the opening of the new reality you are creating, while the second stitch

8. Clare Hunter, Threads of Life: A History of the World through the Eye of a Needle (New York: Abrams Press, 2020).

9. E. B. Shcherbyna, “Ukrayins’ka Narodna Vyshyvka i Yiyi Terminosystemy,” Visnyk Kharkivs’koyi Derzhavnoyi Akademiyi Dyzaynu i Mystetstv 1 (2010): 79–80, http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/had_2010_1_21.

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fixes that new reality into place. The completed X splits, crosses out, or negates any unwelcome energies and enhances positive ones.

Our ancestors embroidered symbols of nature, abstract symbols of protection, and even hidden images of goddesses in their embroideries to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their homes against negativity and to invite blessings, spiritual connection, health, wealth, and abundance.

In all styles of embroidery, the symbols created with the stitches had magical meaning. The colors of the threads stitched onto white or natural-colored cloth also had significance, whether simple white, bold red and black, or complex multicolored designs.10 If you would like to learn more about color magic in embroidery, refer to appendix II, where you’ll see a listing of colors and their meanings.

Make an Embroidered Charm

Your first step on your magical journey is to create a cross-stitch talisman, working from one of the traditional patterns. You can plan your stitching by creating a design on graph paper or by using the designs below. Reading a pattern is easy: one square equals one cross-stitch.

Your Magical Supplies Stitching on Aida fabric is the easiest for cross-stitch. It has a tight, even weave with premeasured holes to guide your stitches. Aida is measured by “count”: a lower number, such as fourteen-count, will set you up for bigger stitches, which are perfect for beginners; a higher number, like twenty-eight-count, is for tighter and finer work.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• White or light-colored cross-stitch cloth, such as Aida fabric • Embroidery floss in black and red or other colors of your choosing • Cross-stitch or embroidery needles • Embroidery hoop (one that measures five inches to eight inches in diameter is about the right size)

10. O. V. Dobrovolska, “Filosofiya Ukrayins’koyi Vyshyvky,” Visnyk Kharkivs’koho Universytetu, no. 57 (2017): 140–144, https://openarchive.nure.ua/handle/document/7029.

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• Chapter 1

Create Your Cross-Stitch Talisman There are several ways to create a talismanic cross-stitch to protect and bless you. You can stitch a single symbol and pin the embroidered cloth to your clothing or carry it in your wallet or purse. You can create a repeating pattern and turn your embroidered cloth into a patch or a pouch. Advanced stitchers may want to embroider clothing along the cuffs, collar, and hem for protection and down the sleeves or front placket to bring in blessings.

Traditionally, new work was started during a waxing moon (the cycle when the moon appears to get larger, after the new moon and before the full moon). Just as the moon was growing, the protection and blessings were expected to grow as well. In the folk practice, stitching was done on any day of the week except on Friday and holidays.11 Stitchers would refrain from weaving or stitching on Fridays to honor the weaving and stitching spirits Mokosh, Paraskeva P’yatnytsya, and the Rusalky on their special day.12 When you sit to stitch, take a moment before you begin to center yourself and let go of any stress or cares. When creating talismanic embroidery, it was considered essential that the stitcher’s thoughts be positive and their feelings light. What you were thinking and feeling would go into your work and would be locked into the resulting magical item.

If you stitched with a peaceful mind and happy thoughts, whoever wore or used the item cloaked their life in that positivity. So, if you’re feeling frustrated, anxious, or unhappy, it’s not the time to make your talisman. Set it aside and do something to relieve those negative feelings first. Find your best feelings and thoughts before you begin.

Meditate on each stitch itself as a cross that initiates and then locks your intention into the spell as you make it. If you are embroidering cross-stitch style, avoid making any knots in your stitching, as it is believed that knots will create unnecessary impediments to your incoming blessings.

11. Joanna Hubbs, Mother Russia: The Feminine Myth in Russian Culture (Boulder, CO: NetLibrary, 1999).

12. Cherry Gilchrist, Russian Magic: Living Folk Traditions of an Enchanted Landscape (Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 2009).

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Talismanic Embroidery Designs

There are many powerful traditional symbols used in embroidery and weaving. The oldest ones, going back to prehistoric times, are the most obscure and purely symbolic: stars, sun, meanders, and the geometric shapes, for example. The representational shapes—such as plants and hearts—are more modern but still imbued with powerful magic.13 Whether you choose an ancient or a more modern design, select the one that brings the blessings you desire or appeals to you most.

Kvadrat/Square The kvadrat is used in spells to enhance the material, draw abundance, or create good boundaries or protection. The kvadrat also carries an essence of orderliness and perfection—a calm and harmonious stability—and is therefore good in spells where you want peace and prosperity. The kvadrat also represents the number four and all things associated with four: the four directions, the four seasons, the four parts of the day, the four elements, and the four stages of life.

Rhomb/Lozenge The rhomb is an ancient diamond shape connected to fertility and the womb as well as the abundance of Mother Earth.

If the lozenge is divided into four more rhombuses, it is a symbol of a fertile field and therefore invokes fertility of all kinds. If those rhombuses have a dot in the center, they represent the sown field, a pregnancy, or abundance and success. If the rhomb has hooks around the border, it is a zhaba, or frog, and represents life-giving water.

13. S. S. Skliar, Starovynni Ukrayins’ki Uzory Dlya Vyshyvannya Khrestom. Mahiya Vizerunka (Kharkiv, Ukraine: Klub Simeinoho Dozvillia, 2016).

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• Chapter 1 Kolo/Circle The kolo is a primary magical symbol representing the sun and the moon. It is used in spells for long life, vigor, and health. If the kolo has a dot at its center, it represents the universe and our connection to all. The kolo also refers to eternity and the never-ending cycle of life and rebirth.

Kalyna/Guelder Rose The kalyna is a berry bush that symbolizes youthful beauty, love, wealth, health, and motherhood, with the bush symbolizing the mother and the berries representing her children. Because of this meaning, it also represents the blessings of the ancestors and has an association with ancestral lands, family roots, and blood ties. The ripe red berries also represent passionate and sensual love.

Dub/Oak The dub is the oak, considered the king of the trees. The oak is a holy tree associated with strength and longevity, and there are ancient records of sacred oak groves being used for worship in pre-Christian times.14 Often the dub is embroidered on masculine clothing to make the owner strong and courageous, and it can be combined with kalyna to symbolize the union of strength and beauty.

14. Mychajlo S. Hrusevs’kyj, History of Ukraine—Rus’ (Edmonton, AB: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press, 1997).

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Vynohrad/Grapes Vynohrad signify the family and domestic happiness. Images of vynohrad strengthen family connections when embroidered on clothing but especially empower the rushnyky that are used by the entire family in the home. The vynohrad can be used to create warm familial ties, bless loved ones, and bring abundance to the bloodline.

Mak/Poppy Mak is a powerful emblem that has many magical meanings.

It is often used for spiritual protection from negative entities as well as for banishing negativity, curses, and hexes. It is a symbol for remembrance of the ancestors, so it can be used as a talisman to tap into deep wisdom from one’s lineage. Mak is also used in spells to encourage psychic abilities and have prophetic dreams, so it is the perfect symbol if you wish to develop these skills. It is also seen as a symbol of abundance and can be added to embroidered spells for increasing prosperity. Mak is sometimes used as a love charm for attracting a new relationship filled with happiness as well.

Derevo Zhyttya/Tree of Life The Tree of Life is an ancient symbol with multilayered secret meanings. First, the Tree of Life is rarely shown as a representational tree. It is usually depicted as a vazon, a flowerpot.

This potted plant or tree motif also represents the goddess Berehynia, the oldest Mother spirit, who is the progenitor of life and is associated with the birch tree. The motif is often depicted with a stylized shape that resembles the upraised arms of ancient goddesses. The Derevo Zhyttya can be used as a charm for soul renewal, immortality, resurrection, and abundance.15 15. Bulhakova-Sytnyk, Wolynetz, and Kononenko, The Tree of Life, the Sun, the Goddess.

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• Chapter 1 Sertse/Heart Sertse as a symbol of love is a more modern concept, but incorporating a heart into your embroidery can be a way to encode a love charm into your work. Should you want to be more discreet, you can embroider heart-shaped leaves or petals as part of a plant motif. However, as an older symbol, the heart shape stands for the dual spirits of fate, the Rozhanytsi.16 Embroidering this image of the Rozhanytsi on one’s clothing ensures good luck and solidifies a positive fate.

Zori/Morning Star Zori is the eight-pointed starburst symbol representing the ancient morning star or dawn, a spirit who protects one from evil, disease, and weakness. Stars scattered on a sleeve represent the orderly and harmonious structure of the universe. Incorporating zori in your oberehy will encircle you with peace, calm, love, and protection.

Shevrony/Chevrons These ancient symbols are an expression of the union of female and male essence and the meeting of spirit and matter.

The angles pointing down are said to represent the feminine or the material, while the angles pointing up are interpreted as the masculine or the spiritual. Shevrony are added to oberehy for the union of the spiritual and the material to bring blessings to fruition or to invite a divine love.

16. Hubbs, Mother Russia.

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Khvylyasti Liniyi/Wavy Lines Khvylyasti liniyi represent the element of water, life-giving rains, cleansing, the flow of time, and the evolution of the universe. Waves that run vertically represent gentle rains falling from above, while horizontal lines signify running waters flowing from springs and melting snow. This is a powerful ancient symbol to invite flowing good fortune, longevity, and the blessings of the universe.

Khrest/Cross Khrest, the equal-armed cross, is an ancient sacred symbol representing the sun and fire. When tilted to become an X, it represents the moon. As either the sun or moon, it is seen as a protective amulet against evil spirits. As the sun, it represents life force and expansive energy. As the moon, it represents a more quiet and mystical power. The two intersecting lines symbolize the meeting of the material and the spiritual, and the four arms of the cross represent the balance of the four elements: air, fire, water, and earth. The cross can be used for protection and as a symbol of harmony and peace.

Svarga/Sun Svarga is another ancient symbol for the ever-turning wheel of the sun. Solar symbols bring all to light and are incorporated to protect a person and their property from negativity, to bring enlightenment, and to bless the home and family with happiness. Use a svarga to invoke strength, energy, ancestral wisdom, and protection against misfortune.

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• Chapter 1 Povna Rozha/Mallow Flower When the upright cross of the sun is superimposed over the X of the moon, they form a double cross, or an eight-pointed star, which symbolizes the union between these two spirits. It also represents the union of male and female, which brings in new life. The eight-pointed star is also called the full mallow flower, povna rozha, and is one of the most popular symbols in Ukrainian talismanic magic. It represents the bursting forth of life energy in all directions, the big bang that occurs when an egg is fertilized or when a star is born in the heavens. When you want to incorporate big dreams and expansive wishes into your oberehy, a povna rozha is the perfect addition to your design.

Kryvi Tanets/Meander Kryvi tanets literally means “the winding dance,” the old ritual steps that Ukrainians performed in the spring. This symbol represents the life journey, eternity, strength, and vitality. Sometimes this design is called bezkonechnyk, meaning “infinite line” or “meanders.” It provides powerful protection against negative forces. Any evil that attempts to attach itself will follow the meander, becoming confused and trapped in its endless circuit.

Trykutnyk/Triangle Trykutnyk symbolizes trinities of all kinds: the lower world, the middle world, and the upper world of the World Tree; the three elements of water, fire, and air; birth, life, and death; and mother, father, and child. If the triangles are touching point-to-point to become an hourglass shape, they represent the meeting of the natural world and the supernatural world and can be used as a charm to connect to the spirit realm.

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Klyuchi/Keys Klyuchi is another multifaceted symbol called keys, S figures, or snakes. In ancient times, they symbolized the serpent, a powerful emblem of the waters of the earth (as opposed to the waters of the heavens). Snakes are the guardians of the lower world and an avatar of Baba Yaga. Using klyuchi in your charm will protect you and connect you to Mother Earth, Baba Yaga, the lower world, and snake spirits.

Utility, Beauty, and Magic

For Ukrainians in the past, every object they touched would be useful, beautiful, and imbued with magic. Almost everything they owned was layered with these three attributes. A wooden spoon with a simple carving on it was not just a utensil made to look pretty, but an amulet for abundance and a tool for making meals that would bless the family with health. A home loom with symbols carved into the wood had magical meaning as well as a mundane purpose. And an embroidered shirt was not just a way to protect your body; it was a beautifully decorated talisman to spiritually protect and bring in blessings.

This depth of meaning is well-known to Baba Yaga as well. Her wild hair, her hut on chicken legs, the giant mortar that she travels in, and so many other aspects of her are more than just quirky attributes. They all have secret symbolism that empowers and protects her.

You can create your own secret symbols as well through your embroidery. Once your stitching is complete and you have created your charm, reflect on its meaning. Use it, wear it, carry it with you as an obereh, or display it in your home to protect yourself and your loved ones and to bring bountiful blessings.

Body, Mind & Spirit / Witchcraft

"Pamita takes you on a deep dive into the world of Slavic folk magic. Rich with color, culture, and fairy-tale wisdom, this book is as beautiful as it is helpful."—J. ALLEN CROSS, AUTHOR OF AMERICAN BRUJERÍA

Discover ancient and modern Slavic magical practices through stories told by the legendary Baba Yaga herself. Learn about the magic of the sun, moon, and stars, as well as the magic of weather, animals, seasons, stones, food, beeswax, and more. Each chapter includes a piece of the fairy tale of Vasylyna, comments from Baba Yaga, and hands-on tips and techniques from author Madame Pamita.

© CHRIS STROTHER

Explore magical activities alongside authentic folktales about the birth of the sun and the land of the blessed ones. Step-by-step instructions show you how to stitch Ukrainian folk embroidery motifs into protective charms, weave wreaths from herbs, make enchanted poppets, and work with the spirits of the forest, the hearth, and the sauna. With a bounty of tips and information, this book teaches you to embrace the beauty of these traditional practices and reclaim your personal magic.

MADAME PAMITA is a teacher, candlemaker, spellcaster, tarot reader, and Ukrainian diaspora witch. She is the owner of an online spiritual apothecary called Madame Pamita’s Parlour of Wonders.

She hosts two YouTube video series: Candle Magic Class and the weekly Magic Q&A Tea Party. Madame Pamita is also the host of the Magic and the Law of Attraction podcast and author of The Book of Candle Magic. Visit her at www.ParlourOfWonders.com.

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